Author's Note:
Spiral's back! This chapter sets up a short subplot I'm adding for Brandon's backstory, and it hints a bit at Crest's past, too.
"Crest? I know you're tired, but I still think you should wake up before Loudred gets here," Brandon suggested. After the revelations at Fogbound Lake the guild wasted no time in returning home. Right now we were in our crew room at the guild, and it would not be long until the usual wake up call.
"Yeah, I know," I replied sleepily, "but it would be nice to sleep a normal amount into the day for once."
"What's normal?" he asked in response. "The sun is up; what more could you need?"
"Night lasts longer back home," I answered without thinking. "Let's just get to assembly. I don't think Team Skull followed us back to the guild, so there's no need to wait here."
We were among the first pokemon in the meeting room, but that was okay. I just didn't want Brandon to ask about Blizzard Island. He knew I didn't like to talk about it, but I didn't want to risk saying more than I should. If someone found out who I really was or that I ran away from home they might make me go back, and I wouldn't get to explore anymore.
As the guild members began to join us, Brandon noticed something. "Where do you think Chatot is? He's usually the first pokemon here."
"Knowing him he's probably keeping himself busy. Maybe he's looking for a reason to be upset," I jokingly suggested. Sunflora chuckled at that, apparently having listened in on us.
"The entire guild has been gone for a few days," she explained, "so he is probably a bit behind. As much as we poke fun at him, Chatot does work hard to keep the guild running smoothly."
To our surprise, Chatot never showed up for the daily meeting. Instead, Wigglytuff led assembly himself. "Alright, friends! Chatot is not here today, so I'll be giving this morning's briefing. First, I'm sure you're all wondering about the time gears. Unfortunately, while we do know that one has been stolen, we only know so because we discovered another time gear. As such, we cannot act on this information until the theft is officially reported to the guild. Instead, I want everyone to do their normal jobs today. Those of you who normally report to Chatot can either take today off or report your missions to me tonight. Are there any questions?"
"Hey hey! If we take the day off, what is there to do? Are you seriously suggesting we just sit around the guild and wait?" Corphish asked.
"Why, of course not, Corphish!" the Guildmaster replied. "I would never ask a friend to do something so boring! You can always explore. Better yet, Treasure Town got a new café while we were on the expedition. You should try it; I know I will. Now, if there are no more questions… One!"
"Don't shirk work!" the guild recited. We continued the usual cheers and Wigglytuff dismissed everyone, but he stopped my team before we could leave.
"Crest, before you go anywhere, I need to talk to you privately," he explained. "Brandon, you can come too. Actually, I think you should join us, since you already know."
The Guildmaster led us into his room, and upon entering he appeared more serious than usual. Just like at the lake, actually. "What's going on?" I asked. "You said Brandon already knows, but I'm in the dark. Why do you need to talk to me?"
"It's because of what happened at Fogbound Lake," Wigglytuff answered, completely serious. "As you know, I try to stay… let's say, 'cheerful' around recruits. I only act serious when I absolutely have to. It keeps the guild safe."
"Okay, but why are you telling me this?" I questioned.
This time Brandon answered, "He needs to keep his serious side a secret. Apparently, whenever someone wants to attack the guild, they attack him directly because he's not perceived as a threat, and he uses that to protect the other guild members."
"So, the incompetent leader that nobody takes seriously is just an act?" I reasoned. "But it sounds like you're making yourself a pretty big target then. Is that really safe?"
"I assure you I can defend myself. After all, who do you think took care of Team Skull? When they realized I wasn't going to let them follow you, they attacked me. Big mistake on their part," Wigglytuff explained. "It'll take more than a type and numbers disadvantage to take me down. In any case, I need you to promise you won't tell anyone my secret. Under normal circumstances, I only reveal my true self to those who figure it out on their own like Brandon did, so the fewer pokemon who know about this the better."
"I can agree to that," I answered.
"Good," he replied. "Now, I do have something to give you. Uxie gave me this treasure box in exchange for our help defending the time gear, but I want your team to have it. Think of it as a consolation for Brandon's lost memory. If what Uxie said was true, then there is little hope that you will recover it. Don't get discouraged though! We still have to learn about your visions after all."
"To be honest, I suspect my past is the least of our concerns," Brandon replied. "Have you heard anything from your friend on the Mist continent?"
Wigglytuff let out a defeated sigh. "I wrote him a letter, but if time has really stopped in that region it will never reach him. I also have a message ready for the Expedition Society on the Water Continent. They are the ones who requested our previous expedition, and their leader is another friend of mine. As soon as the guild receives official word of the stolen time gear I will inform him of what has happened."
"I guess there isn't really anything we can do about it," I reasoned. "If there is nothing more, I'd like to go to that new café you mentioned in this morning's announcements. I assume we'll see you there later?"
"Not today, I'm afraid," Wigglytuff answered. "I gave Chatot the day off, and we just got back from a somewhat rushed expedition. I'll be too busy to do much of anything fun for a while. You two can check it out though."
Brandon and I made our way out of the guild and to the crossroads. It was there that we saw a hole leading underground, which we assumed was the new café. Sure enough, a large yet surprisingly well-lit room was waiting for us beneath the surface.
"Welcome to Spinda's Café!" greeted a Spinda who I assumed to be the owner. "Is this your first time here?"
"It is, actually," I answered. "We just got back from the guild's expedition."
Spinda seemed quite excited to hear that. "You're guild members? That's great! Your explorations draw a lot of attention to the town; without them I wouldn't have been able to open up shop. Why don't you take a seat anywhere you like? First drink's on the house." With that warm welcome out of the way Spinda left to tend to her other customers.
We were about to find our own seats when a voice called out to us. "Hey, Crest, Brandon, over here!" A quick search of the room revealed the voice to be a familiar Omanyte.
"Hi Spiral!" I greeted as we joined her table. "We were wondering when we would run into you again."
"I told you I stop by Treasure Town for supplies, didn't I? Saw this new café and figured you'd show up here eventually. Turns out your guild was on an expedition when it opened up, though," she explained.
"Wait, were you looking for us?" Brandon asked.
"Actually, yes. I was curious about your amnesia, so I did a bit of digging," Spiral explained. "I thought, 'Crest lived near a dungeon with hostile Piplup and I lived near a dungeon with hostile Omanyte, so maybe Brandon is from a dungeon with hostile Chikorita.'"
That logic does make sense, but there are some problems with it. I doubted it would explain how Brandon washed up on the beach, and Brandon wasn't always a Chikorita anyway. He was a… what was it? I think Uxie called it a "human." Whatever it was didn't exist in Pokesh, or seemingly at all from what I could tell.
"So you think you know where Brandon is from?" I asked.
"Well, Chikorita are not exactly a common species," Spiral reasoned. "So far I've only heard of one mystery dungeon with hostile Chikorita. It's called Mystifying Forest."
"Isn't that the one that leads to Luminous Spring?" I questioned.
She seemed surprised that I had heard of it. "It is. How did you know?"
I was hesitant to answer out of fear it would reveal my identity but decided there was no harm in it. If nobody had figured it out by now, I doubted this would clue them in. "My brother went there a few years ago to evolve. Actually, Brandon and I have both reached evolution level, so we should probably consider making a trip there ourselves."
Brandon was caught of guard by that. "I haven't even considered evolution. To be honest, I don't think I'm ready for… more change," he explained. "Though I guess I'm not against visiting the place. It would be nice to see another Chikorita, even if it is just a hostile."
"Actually, that's what I was thinking about before," Spiral said. "Mystifying Forest is a difficult dungeon, but the Chikorita there are around the level you were when we met, and hostiles aren't very smart. They wouldn't know much more than basic survival."
"Are you seriously suggesting Brandon used to be a hostile?" I couldn't believe how big of a claim that was. "I thought hostiles couldn't exist outside of their home dungeons. Don't they dissipate or something?"
Spiral must have expected my response. "Most of them, yes. But if one did survive? I think it would be just like him."
"Well, I have my doubts," Brandon cut in. "But I have had another thought. Luminous Spring sounds pretty important and its neighboring dungeon is home to Chikorita, so maybe I could have a vision there."
"What's this about a vision? I seem to recall you mentioning something similar back at the waterfall," Spiral inquired.
"To be honest, we aren't sure ourselves," I explained, "but sometimes, when Brandon touches something, he sees a vision relating to its past or future. It's happened four times already, but we still don't know exactly how they work."
"Huh… I guess you're the king of mysteries then, aren't you?" Spiral responded.
A moment later Spinda showed up with a pair of drinks. "Here you go, explorers! Smoothies made from your favorite gummis! Probably!" she said, handing me the blue drink. Brandon received a green one, likely made from a grass gummi.
Taking a sip from the drink I said, "How about this: since Wigglytuff gave us the day off, we spend it going to Luminous Spring. We can evolve and you can try to have a vision."
"Hey, don't leave me out of this!" Spiral interjected. "It was my idea, after all. Besides, unless you two have seriously powered up since last time, Mystifying Forest will be too difficult for you on your own."
"Sounds fair to me. I don't plan on evolving, at least not yet, but I'll take any chance I can get to learn about my past," Brandon agreed.
"You're not going to evolve?" I asked, incredulous. I couldn't believe someone would choose to stay in their base form. Back on Blizzard Island, evolution was like a right of passage. Either you evolved, or you were treated like a child forever, and I was tired of being treated like a child.
To my surprise, Spiral agreed with Brandon. "Not everyone is interested in evolving. I've reached evolution level too, but I won't evolve. Omastar have a bad reputation for being aggressive. Not exactly a good look for an explorer. Anyway, how has your guild work been? Was the expedition a success?"
"It's been pretty rough," Brandon explained. "Chatot invited an exploration team called Team Skull to help with the expedition. Unfortunately, they're a team of thieves. They wouldn't leave us alone, and their poisons are naturally bad for Grass types. Luckily for us they disappeared during the expedition itself. We didn't find anything though."
"The guild didn't find anything," I corrected. "Our team found this treasure box though. We don't have the Poke to get it opened, but it's something."
"Wait, you two are broke?" Spiral asked.
"Our guild takes ninety percent of monetary rewards from missions to fund our training," Brandon clarified, "and we haven't had time to do many missions in the first place. We spent all our Poke on supplies for the expedition."
"In that case, I have an idea," Spiral suggested slyly, "Since we're going to Luminous Spring anyway, tell the guild I'm your client for today. I'll slide you some poke to get that box opened, and you can brag to Chatot about working on your day off."
"Spiral, that really isn't necessary…" I began only to get cut off.
"Don't worry about it. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm always up to get one over on that guild," Spiral explained. "This is as much for my benefit as it is for you."
Brandon almost seemed disappointed by that. "I suppose that means you aren't interested in officially joining our team then."
She thought about it for a moment before answering, "Not right now. No offense, but until you get stronger you would only slow down my own explorations, and your guild and I don't get along in the first place. Maybe when you're more experienced or if the guild changes leadership I'll join you. Until then, I'd rather remain an independent explorer."
"Well, that's fine, I guess," I conceded. "Not everyone will join a team as easily as Brandon did."
"Hey, what else was I going to do?" he defended. "Jump back in the ocean?"
"Nah, leave that to us Water types," Spiral joked. "Looks like you finished your smoothies. Come on, we have a dungeon to explore!"